You need a rich English vocabulary to talk about charts and graphs. Let’s start with a game. Take turns selecting words and giving hints, so your partner can guess your word.
Nouns:
chart – an image that shows information in a clear way
graph – a chart that shows a trend
diagram – an image that shows how something works, or the way things interrelate.
trend – a tendency, or general direction of something
rate – quantity, amount or degree (rate of speed/change)
data – facts that can be analyzed (a single data point)
amount – quantity or the total sum
feature – a part or characteristic of something
peak – the uppermost point
Verbs:
to be steady – to not change in a significant way
to increase/rise/grow – to become greater or larger
to decrease/decline/drop – to become less or smaller
to spike – to go up suddenly
to dip – to go down and then back up
to plunge – to drop suddenly and significantly
to fluctuate -go up and down
to highlight – to emphasize or bring attention to something
to feature – to show
CHALLENGE!
Can you pronounce the Past Simple form of the regular verbs?
Try the quiz!
Adjectives and adverbs:
significant – important or noteworthy
insignificant – not important or noteworthy
steady – consistent
outstanding – noticeable or conspicuous
upward – moving towards something higher or larger
downward – moving towards something lower or smaller
in a row – consecutively
Pronunciation and Clarification
Let’s stop and take another look at these words.
Can you pronounce the nouns comfortably?
Notice the difference between the nouns and the adjectives. Can you use them in sentences?
Vocabulary Practice – Use the vocabulary words to talk about the chart:
Suggested conversation questions:
1.) Describe the chart.
2.) What is the chart describing?
3.) Do you notice any upward trends?
4.) Do you notice any downward trends?
5.) Was there a spike of earnings in March?
6.) Did Lucy’s earnings increase three months in a row?
7.) What happened in April?
8.) Is the company making or losing money by the end of this report?
Practice Exercise 1
1.) Do an Internet image search for ‘interesting statistics chart’.
2.) Select a chart that interests you.
3.) Set a timer. You have 20 minutes to complete this task.
4.) Write an essay of around 150 words.
Structure your essay into four paragraphs:
Introduction – In this report I am going to summarize my finding of a graph. When possible, include the type of graph, the title, the date, and the topic.
Paragraph 2 – Describe what the graph is representing and why it is relevant. What trend or comparison does it highlight?
Paragraph 3 – Talk about something significant that you notice. Use specific numerical details. Don’t forget to add the value terms, like ‘dollars’, or ‘degrees’.
Conclusion – Finish with a brief closing to round out your essay.
Practice Exercise 2 – Renewable Energy
Practice Exercise 3 – Natural Disasters
Practice Exercise 4 – My Year in Data
Practice Exercise 5 – Protein and Food Prices
Want more charts and graphs?
Great charts related to world population
Chart the usage of words over time with this neat, little application.
